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Hope you can shed some light - I have a 9 month old English Pointer
female, submissive, but definitely not shy. I have only had her for 4
months, but had made (I thought) good progress with basic obedience, in
controlled situations, i.e.: sit, heel, down, come, stay, off, wait,
etc.
Here is my problem: in the past 2 weeks, it's as if she has decided that the world is hers to discover, and is blatantly ignoring commands that previously would have been responded to immediately. In the field, I have lost faith in her paying any attention to me, and coming when called, and have gone back to a long lead to try and regain that attention. When she fails to respond to a down, for example, and I sweep her front legs while repeating the command, she jumps right back up again, all the while looking off into the distance or smelling the wind - quite infuriating! I have tried to be aware of those times when she is genuinely confused, but the majority of the time, she simply won't comply with the command - do I need to go back and more deeply engrain the most basic stuff all over again? Even though she is not aggressive or dominant, and in fact gets quite "cowery" after a verbal reprimand, is she just testing me? If so, how would you suggest resolving that? She works well for food rewards in the house, but outside, they loose 90% of their appeal - her nose leads her attention astray. Thanks for any suggestions you may have! Peter of Guelph, Ontario It sounds as though, and this is a bit of a stretch since I don't know the dogs breeding; but, it sounds like your pointer has suddenly discovered her nose. You must consider the fact that for as long as pointers have been bred the one characteristic that nearly all breeders reach for is a dog with an "incredible nose". Hence above all the desire to expierence the world through olfactory means is going at some point to overcome nearly all the training and conditioning you can do. Combining this with the normal "teenage rebellion" that most young dogs go through it will certainly test your will and resolve. Solution: remain firm and steady in your resolve but keep in mind that you are dealing with a thirteen year old with a nose more selective than the best laboratory equipment we can manufacture today for sensing particles in the air. Most importantly don't lose your temper, if this indeed is a sensitive dog you could do irreprable damage by over reacting to this stage in her development. Fourtunately just like the teens our children go through this will likely pass and quickly. CR
Charles Rose |
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